The xxArray is Alexx Henry's bid to change the digital world by bringing us into it.

Images courtesy Alexx Henry

When you boot up GTA V, do you play as Michael, Trevor, or Franklin? Soon that may not matter, thanks to Alexx Henry's new "3D scanner for the masses," the xxArray, which uses 90 DSLR cameras to create a hyperreal, 22 gigapixel digital model of a person in seconds. A few lines of code later, Henry suggests, and the new, digital you can be hustling through Los Santos or any number of famous digital locales, using your own hands, feet, and face, accurate to the very pore.

As of today, he and his team are turning to Kickstarter to present the xxArray to developers and backers from 14 cities across the United States and Canada. “The goal of the tour is to literally bring this technology to the people, to offer them a portal into the 3D universe, and introduce them to their digital selves," Henry explains. Beyond bringing cutting edge tech to game develpers, this also means that Henry could be building the largest database of high-quality 3D avatars captured from human subjects in the world—with the permission of all parties involved, of course. "We’re not going to use your avatar without your having opted in," he assures us. "You’ll be in control. You have the right to your likeness."

Beyond the North American tour, Henry sees hi-res 3D scans giving all sorts of industries a facelift. "There are implications for entertainment, into health, fitness and apparel that can really make a difference in how you interact in the physical [world], plus a ton of things we haven’t even thought of," he says. "Most of how we’ll interact in a few years will be in 3D, whether it’s online in VR or in the already 3D real-life meatspace." The first subject he'd love to scan into this new world? Edward Snowden. "He represents a push for open information, internet freedom and empowerment of the individual. I like the symbolism there."